140 THE RUBBER TREE BOOK 



which by their nature are impervious to moisture and easily 

 scoured clean. If coagulating troughs are to be used, the cross- 

 section slips should be of metal. 



The red spots which sometimes disfigure rubber sheets, and 

 which planters are at their wits' end to get rid of, are minute 

 bacterial growths, if not also fungal. They specially infect 

 wooden articles. The only way to get rid of them is by 

 thoroughly scalding and disinfecting with strong disinfectants 

 all the factory and all articles in use there. This should be 

 done two or three successive times, as the fungi are most diffi- 

 cult to eradicate, having both a wonderful fecundity and more 

 lives than any cat that ever lived. Cleanliness in the factory 

 cannot be too strongly insisted on. 



With a view to obviating the risks of attacks of such fungi 

 the manager should see that no wooden tables are in use in the 

 factory. If of wood, they should be covered over with zinc. 

 Cement mounds with glazed white tile tops are much better for 

 factory purposes than wooden tables. A wooden stick ought not 

 to be used to stir round the coagulated latex. It will become 

 infected after a time. If used, it should not be used too long, 

 but be replaced by fresh rods. A light metal stirrer is the safest. 



In every well-managed factory a very careful record should 

 be kept, not only of the total daily amount of rubber of each 

 grade manufactured, but of their relative percentages. In this 

 way a manager has a check on the working of the productive 

 portion of the estate which he could arrive at by no other 

 means. For example, he is able to observe whether scrap 

 rubber and earth rubber are being properly and regularly 

 collected, and what percentages these are of his total output. 

 He is able, by watching over such details generally neglected 

 on the great majority of estates in course of time to reduce 

 these percentages and to add to the percentage of the first- 

 grade latex rubber, which all will admit is eminently desirable. 

 Sometimes, too, this record may be the means of awakening a 

 manager to the fact that systematic pilfering of scrap is going 

 on to a large scale, and enable him to stop it. 



With such records in their possession managers can com- 

 pare notes with each other from time to time and improve their 

 factory practice very materially. Here is another opportunity 

 .for efficiency in working and one which should not be neglected. 



